Original post by Kate Lemon for NCTA posted 1 June 2026

Pennsylvania hosts nearly 300 miles of the North Country National Scenic Trail

The North Country Trail Association (NCTA) is pleased to welcome Kate Hagner as its new Executive Director. Mid-June, she will begin leading the Association from her home in Vermont.

Kate comes to the NCTA from nearly 20 years of service with the Student Conservation Association. Most recently, she was the Senior Director for Enterprise Operations, providing organizational leadership and aligning systems, processes, and teams to support strategic growth, program effectiveness, and mission impact. She led in other management and director roles for 12 years prior. Kate holds a B.A. in English from Smith College and an M.A. in English and Writing from the University of Texas.

“I’ve lived in Minnesota, upstate New York, and now Vermont – places all connected to the geography of this trail,” said Kate. “Meaningful outdoor experiences do not need to happen only in iconic destinations. I love that the North Country Trail is close to where so many people already live and work. Because of the NCTA, [the trail] is a thread connecting people, place, and time. As Executive Director, I will work to strengthen that thread – to protect it, expand it, and invite more people to see themselves as part of it.”

“I am confident that under Kate’s leadership, the NCTA will continue to thrive, strengthen partnerships, and build momentum toward the forever trail,” said Jan Ulferts Stewart, NCTA Board President.

A Conversation with Kate

What do you think is special about the North Country Trail?
The way it sparks connection in so many ways at once. It connects people to the places where they live. It connects communities across eight states. It connects volunteers to the generations of people who built and cared for the trail before them. And, perhaps most importantly, it connects people to each other. We often think of trails as being about nature, and they are. But what I’ve learned over my years working at an organization rooted in the outdoors is that going outside has this profound ability to connect us. That, to me, is the core story of the North Country Trail Association. And it’s a story I find deeply compelling.

What attracted you to leading a member-based organization?
I spent nearly 20 years at the Student Conservation Association, which had a large and distributed network of participants and programs across the country. What I found there – and what I believe is even more true here – is that I genuinely enjoy the complexity of that kind of work. It requires relationship-building, a lot of attention to communication, sometimes difficult collaborative work. My leadership philosophy is rooted in the idea that organizations are fundamentally human ecosystems – and a member-based organization like NCTA is one of the purest expressions of that.

As a member-based organization, the NCTA has this extraordinary base of support. People are on the trail for all kinds of reasons – recreation, exercise, challenge, solitude. Volunteers are stewarding sections because of their deep connection to the trail, but also because of the sense of belonging and identity that their local Chapters create. That human network – the volunteers, the partners, the towns where the trail passes through – is one of the Association’s greatest strengths. Leading an organization where that network is central to everything felt like exactly the right fit.

How will you build and foster meaningful relationships with NCTA supporters?
First and foremost, by being present. My commitment as a leader is to show up: on the trail, as a volunteer, in communities, and with donors and partners. I’m a trail person at heart. I want to get out on the trail, explore the sections that this membership has made possible, contribute to projects alongside volunteers. There’s no better way to have a conversation than next to each other on a trail. I can best advocate for what I know deeply. And in order to be the kind of leader this organization deserves, I know I have to get outside and experience it firsthand.

The other piece is being a strong translator. Different supporters have different motivations, and I want to first really understand where each person is coming from – and then connect the mission to what they actually care about. That starts with a lot of listening.

Looking ahead, say, 10 years, what does success look like to you?
First, a stronger trail. Fewer gaps, fewer road walks, more protected corridor – the physical trail more fully realized as the truly continuous experience it was always meant to be – the forever trail that’s at the center of our strategic plan. That also means building resilience: to increasing development pressures, and to the impacts of climate change on the landscapes the trail passes through.

Second, a wider circle. More people who see the trail as theirs – not just hikers, but conservation advocates, community development leaders, health and wellness partners – people who may never have set foot on the trail but who nonetheless understand that NCTA’s mission intersects with what they care about.

Third, a deeper philanthropic foundation. A broader base of members, a stronger major gifts program, a culture of planned giving, more robust institutional relationships. A fundraising program built not just on trail users but on everyone who believes in what the trail connects.

Fourth, chapters and volunteers who feel genuinely well-supported, recognized, empowered, and equipped for leadership succession. Not dependent on a single generation of dedicated founders, but with the infrastructure to carry the mission forward.

And underneath all of that, I hope that NCTA is recognized – not just as a trail manager, but as infrastructure for connection across the regions it passes through. Because the North Country Trail is more than a path. It is a thread connecting people, place, and time. Success, to me, is more people knowing that, and more people seeing themselves as part of it.

About North Country Trail Association

The mission of the North Country Trail Association (NCTA) is to develop, maintain, protect and promote the North Country National Scenic Trail as the premier hiking path across the northern tier of the United States through a trail-wide coalition of volunteers and partners. The NCTA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that partners with the National Park Service to unite individuals, affiliated trail groups, local Chapters, corporate sponsors and others linked in support of building and maintaining the North Country Trail and telling its story.